Method of dealcoholizing beer.



W. BECKER &D. H. MONTGOMERY.

METHOD OF DEALCOHOLIZING BEER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, I915.

Patented Feb. 8,1916.

W-fBec/k QIIJ UNITED str trEs TENT OFFICE.

I WILLIAM BECKER AND DANIEL HAYDEN MONTGOMERY, or vmoINIA, MINNEso'rA,

ASSIGNOBS '10 CLARA LUCIE MONTGOMERY AND' MARGARET MARIE BECKER, BOTH OF VIRGINIA, MINNESOTAL METHOD OF DEALQOHQLIZING BEER.

To'all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM BECKER and DANIELH-AYDEN MONTGOMERY, citizens of the United States, residing at Virginia, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and from'beer, wine, spirits and other beverages containing it; and the object of the same is to effect the desired end without raising,

the beverage to atemperature which will impair its taste and other'desirable qualities We have found that while alcohol is liberated from beuerages at a low tempera- 1 ture,and most of it very easily separated a therefrom, it is not all removed at one time or at onepassage through the apparatus, even when the latter includes means for spraying the beverage or for otherwise breaking it up and flowing it in the form of thin sheets or small streams while It is yet hot; and one feature of our invention consists in passing a given charge of the beverage repeatedly through the apparatus before it is cooled and led to the storage tank. On the accompanying sheet of drawings is illustrated diagrammatically one form .of

apparatus for carrying out our method,the details of which latter will now be explained .The numeral 1 designates an opentank surrounded by a jacket 2 for containing,

water which is heated by coils 3 within the jacket through steam supplied through pipe 4. From the outlet end of the coils 3 "a pipe 5 leads to a trap 6 from which the water of condensation is drawn off through a waste pipe 7, and beyond the trap the live steam passes through the pipe 8 into another steam supply pipe 14 which latter leads into coils 13 located in a jacket 12.

-" The second element in the apparatus is an evaporator 11. This is a conical member 1 surrounding the jacket 12 and having upright gutters. or channels 10 divergin, ;*from its top to a collecting gutter 16 at its lower end. The outlet from thecoils 13 is through Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 16, 1915. vSerial No. 51,098. I

Patented Feb.8,1916.

a pipe 15 which may be branched to the waste 17 and also to the pipe 18 as shown;

and by the provision of suitable valves 9 and 19 the supply of-live steam and the 1 exhaust of water of condensation, as well through the pipe 27. We do not wishto be limited to the detail construction of these Y elements,- the jackets or other devices for heating them, or the system ofpipes for supplying steam and handling the waste.

The fourth element of our apparatusjis a pump 30, and the fifth element is a cooler 31. The beer, wine,- or other beverage to be treated is admitted to the preliminary heating tank lat the point 32, and from thistank it is led through the pipe 33 to a spray. ring 34 at the top of the elementll, .which ring is, provided with fine perforations so that the heated beverage is sprayed into the channels 10 and allowed to run down-the same in the form of a thin film or sheet and collect in the gutter 16, meanwhile being acted onby the heat in the jacket 12.

From this gutter the beverage is carried through a pipe 35 to'the second heating tank 21 wherein its temperature is raised to the same degree as that in the preliminary tank. From the tank 21 the beverage is carried through a pipe 36 controlled by a valve 37 which when open puts this tank into communication with the pump 30, and by the latter the beverage is'driven back through pipe 38 to the preliminary tank 1- for retreatment. From the tank 21 there also leads a pipe 46 controlled by a valve .47 which, when open, permits the beverage to flow into the cooler 31 wherein it is subjected to brineor other means for reducing its temperature; and from the cooler a pipe 48 leads to casks, vats, or other devices for storing the liquid'in the cellaras usual.

The carrying out of our'method by the use of this apparatus is as follows: The charge of beer, for instance, is admitted to the preliminary tank 1 through the pipe 32, and

then the supply of b'eeris out 0E. The

jacket 2 being full of water, steam is now perature of the jacket to such a degree that the charge of beer is raised to a suitable temperature, but not over 167 F. The 'valve' in the outlet pipe 33 is now opened and the charge of beer at this temperature is allowed to flow to and through the ring 34 by which admitted through pipe 4 to raise the temit is sprayed onto the evaporator 11, thewater in the jacket 12 having been meanwhile ralsed in temperature by admission of live steam through the supply pipe 14. As

the sheet of beer flows down the channels the heat from the jacket 12 will evaporate a large percentage of the alcohol which the charge contains, the alcohol fumes passing off either into the air or into a pipe for collecting them for subsequent treatment if desired. As the alcohol is thus drawn oil, the

temperature of the charge is decreased, and as, the beer gathers in the gutter-16 and flows through the pipe 35 to the third element or I tank 21 it will not be at the temperature to a second time, it need not be described in detail. After retreatment the charge accumulates a second time within the tank 21,

and if a test shows an undesirable per-' centage of alcohol is yet present, it is quite possible to give a third treatment. Otherwise the valve 37 is closed and the valve 47 opened, when the charge runs down the pipe 46 into the cooler 31; and from the coolerit runs through the pipe 48 to the vat or l to this charge.

other container within the cellar. Meanwhile a -second charge is admitted to the pre-' liminary heater through the pipe 32, and

the same method is carried out with respect In the constructlon of apparatus for carrying out this vmethod, it will beclear that the various elements diagrammatically illustrated in the drawings might be replaced by those of standard equipment well known in-the handling of malt liquors and spirituous liquors; and it will be obvious that the admission of the live steam (if indeed steam be'used as a heatin agent) and the discharge of the used heating agent it-' self, as well as the arrangement of elements and the piping between them, is susceptible of wide modification. Therefore we do not ,wishto be limited in this respect. We have found that a beverage so treated retains its brilliancy and flavor and is of a very palatable taste and pleasing aroma. We have stated 167 F. as being the maximum temperature which will not. destroy the char acter of the beer if beer be the beverage, but as to this exact temperature we also do not wish to be limited. We prefer decidedly that the temperature be below 168 F., and not so high that the beer or other beverage will be vaporized as it is not our intention to vaporize it at any point in its treatment.

What we claim is:

1. The herein described method of dealcoholizing beverages, the same consisting in raising the temperature of a charge of such beverage to substantially 167 F., then converting the charge into spray to permit it to giveoff its alcohol, then raising the charge a ain to a temperature no higher than at rst, then repeating this process, and finally cooling the product and conducting it to a point of storage.

2. The herein described method of dealcoholizing beverages, the same consisting in raising the temperature of a charge of such beverage to not over 167 F., then spraying the' charge into a sheet and subecting the sheet to substantially the same temperature to permit it -to give off its alcohol, then collecting the charge and raising it again to substantially the same temperature, then repeating this process, and finally cooling the product and conducting it toa point of storage. 5

3. The herein described. method of dealcoholizing beverages, the-same consisting in raising the temperature of a charge of such beverage to not over 167 ',F., then spraying the charge into a sheet and subjecting the sheet to substantially the same temperature to permit it to give off its alcohol, then collecting the treated beverage, cooling it, and finally conducting it to a point of storage.

4. The herein described method of dealcoholizing beverages, the same consisting in spraying the beverage, collecting the spray into a flowing sheet and subjecting it to heat to raise its temperature to not over 167 F. and cause it to give ofl the alcohol, then collecting the beverage without its alcohol vapors and again heating it to substantially the same temperature, then pumping it back and retreating it, and finally conveying the de-alcoholized beverage to a point of storage. 4 y j In testimony whereof we aflixour s1gnatures. 1

WILLIAM BECKER. DANIEL HAYDEN momeomaar. 

